The owner of a classic British sports car which was stolen and burnt out by thieves said he lost irreplaceable mementos in the blaze.

The owner of the Triumph GTG Mk3, Gary Aldam, said he parked the car in its usual spot in Cannons Mill Lane, Bishops Stortford, opposite his home on July 30 at 10.30pm and the next day it had gone.

Mr Aldam, 56, believes the car was stolen and was told on Monday that the Triumph had been found “burnt out” in Folly Mill Lane, between Thaxted and Great Easton.

The Triumph was bought by Mr Aldam about six years ago as a bit of an “indulgence” and was the only vintage car he owned.

He said: “It’s a classic British sports car, there’s not a vast number of them about. If anybody was targeting it because of what is was, why was it destroyed? It’s not like the parts themselves are rare so maybe they realised it wasn’t worth as much as they thought or there’s so many people out there looking for it.”

Mr Aldam had taken part in the London to Brighton Classic Car Run in the car with his wife and lots of mementos from the event were stored in the vehicle.

He said: “[The classic car run] was fantastic, really good but I have lost all the mementos from the day like the brass plaque, because they were in the car. They’re probably a melted puddle now. I was lining up to do a few more races and events this year and next year, now I clearly won’t be doing that.”

Mr Aldam, a management consultant, said: “I was fond of that model. It’s a lovely small British sports car. At the time I bought it, it was relatively cheap. I was looking for something that was a bit of an investment. I just liked the shape of it. It was the car I had been looking for.”

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “Unfortunately in this case no further investigative opportunities were identified in the form of CCTV, witness accounts or forensic evidence and therefore the crime was finalised in line with the force policy.

“The vehicle was recorded on the police national computer database as stolen so that if the registration was picked up by any ANPR cameras across the country, it would be flagged to the local force and followed up accordingly.

“However, we were informed on August 7 that a fire-damaged vehicle suspected to be the stolen Triumph had been found in Essex. Enquiries are ongoing in order to recover the vehicle and examine it for forensic opportunities.”